what bushings/suspension components to replace?

[Pinchlite]

2007 HB with 270,000 KM.

Engine,clutch are in excellent shape aswell as body. Zero rust beleive or not for a canadain car.(sprayed every year since new)

Come to think of it since owning a yaris I notice that I have not seen a single rusted out yaris to date.

This is why I dont mind putting good money into this car.I have recently purchased rear sway bar,drop springs and megan racing axleback.Struts BTW are 2 year old OEM replacements.Waiting for spring to do the work.

Best way to describe is a kind of loose,rattly feeling over rough roads..I think mainly from the front.

I have read that certain bushings could be replaced quite easily.

Here is quote from Toyotaowneresclub.com

(Sounds to me like the drop link bushings (anti roll bar bushes) have gone, a common fault on the yaris).

It does have quite a few KM'S so replacing parts does not bother me.

I have replaced struts on my Honda years ago so I think I could do most other repairs myself.I also have quite a few auto tools and air ratchet...etc.

Thanks as always for any suggestions.

[why?]

how rough roads are we talking? The car has a loose rattly ride over rough roads brand new as well.

[Pinchlite]

Average type roads.

The suspension just does not feel tight.Perhaps its just normal?

I did have a mechanic visually inspect while on the hoist...he actually took a pry bar and leveraged suspension arms/items for play?

He said all was good.Not sure how thorough this was though.A test drive would probaly have been better.

Lets say I go over some not so bad washboard on pavement the front kind of rattles.Again it just does not feel tight like compared to my friends 2014 fit LX.

Not saying the fit is better,quite the opposite actually in my opinion.

I want to replace some bushings,components that perhaps would make the car back to a newer feel.

Thanks for reply much appreciated.

[tmontague]

Check the control arm bushing and sway bar end links. Also look at the ball joint and see what kind of condition it's in.

Your control arm bushing (puck bushing) could be starting to go,it tends to clunk lightly as it gets worn and develops small cracks.

Jack up your car and start moving all the suspension components. If that doesn't work then start hitting to tire with a bfh, while having your other hand on different suspension parts. The part that is worn will feel much different (this works better than you'd think)

Toyota doesn't cheap out on their paint (although there were some clear coat issues on some years) that's the benefit of buying a used car. You can watch and see which cars haven't rusted after a decade.

There are 2001 Echo's driving around here with no rust on the body, that was one of the reason I bought my wife one as her first car years ago.

[Pinchlite]

Yes,quite a few mention Stablizer Sway Bar Links.

I came across 8 piece front suspension kits aswell.

Going to investigate further.I dont mind replacing all the parts that have rubber bushings.

I will get cv joints inspected aswell.

Thanks for help.

P.S

Quite a few mentioned replacing spring caps(not sure if correct definition) when swapping springs.Does this apply to the yaris aswell?

I think they lay betwen top metal cap on the strut and spring.

I will refer to this plus a youtube video when doing job.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/32...il-spring.html

[dogsridewith]

Ball joints can develop looseness in driving attitude and not show play when jacked up or on lift. Note shop manual replacement test is a rotary torque test on a disconnected joint. Might want to just replace originals at 270 km.
(Problem may be choosing from massive number of choices , at wide price range...was for a generation 6 Corolla.)
Also might look at cost of full-corner replacement, depending on your wrenching situation, uptime requirement, and cost of parts. (CV joints may be great, but are there micro-cracks in the boots? Then you may likely find it more expensive for a mechanic to replace boots than install a complete new shaft assembly...where rebuilt brings up question of what that means.)
Please share what anti-corrosion spray was used on this 2007 Yaris!

[Pinchlite]

Great info.Going to replace ball joints,stabilizer barlinks amd a few other items.I want it to as close to new feeling as possible.

It was crowned yearly since purchase and the owner had a garage.

Like they say body is everything.Once the body starts to go then its not really worth putting parts into.

Thanks for the expertise.

[tmontague]

I started using Krown a handful of years back, very happy with how little rust I have on the car. I compared all the types of oil spray and Krown seemed to have the best one.

The key is finding a specific guy to do the spraying every time. I travel all the way back to Mississauga to have mine done by the owner and no one else. He's a great guy and will chat cars with me for a half hour while coating the crap out of everything. The original guy who did it down a typical fast job and I had to go back and get thing re sprayed.

[Pinchlite]

This fella started up a krown franchise(?) about 2 years back.He is the only one who sprays.Very nice fella.Literally 1 minute down the road from me aswell.

Here is pick from last summer.Few minor paint scratches rear quarter..but nothing that got down to bare metal.

[CoryM]

To check swaybar bushings/links: At parking lot/safe speeds just use the steering to rock the car back and forth quickly. If you have swaybar play it will clunk or click every time the car rocks.

When parked, open the door and have someone push sideways on the roof/door edge as if you were trying to roll the car over (hard!). This rocking motion loads/unloads the swaybar and shows any play in the links/bushings. Get your eyes or hands on the links and bushings while rocking and you will see vertical play if there is any.

[Pinchlite]

I have done quick hard swerving and get no clunking that I can remember,then again I wasnt really listing for it at the time.

Gotta run into town and will do it again and observe better.

I will try the rocking method aswell.

Thanks for reply and great suggestions.

I will report back with results.